
Falmouth RNLI volunteers prepare to say farewell to their Severn class lifeboat
After 23 years of service at Falmouth, the Severn class lifeboat 17-29 RNLB Richard Cox Scott has reached the end of her operational life and will be withdrawn from service at the end of January.
She will be replaced by a state-of-the-art Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, initially by 13-44 George and Frances Phelon from the relief fleet and then, once built, the station’s own Shannon later in 2025.
As part of the farewell, Falmouth RNLI’s volunteer visits team are offering members of the public a last opportunity to have a free guided tour of the Severn class all-weather lifeboat before she retires and departs the station. The farewell tours, operational requirements permitting, will be available on six days in January on the following dates: Wednesday 8, Saturday 11, Sunday 12, Tuesday 14, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 January between 10am and 3pm (between 12.30pm and 3pm on the Sundays).
Falmouth RNLI Visits Officer Andrew Mumford said: ‘There is no need to book on these dates, just come along to the station and one our boat guides will be on hand to show you around.’
Andrew continued: ‘Throughout the year, we also offer pre-booked group and individual visits for 1 to 32 people and these can be requested by emailing [email protected], ideally up to 7 days before a preferred date so that volunteer guides can be arranged.’
The brand new RNLB Richard Cox Scott was placed on service on 18 December 2001 and it wasn’t long before she was called out on service for the first time. It was at 18 minutes past midnight on 19 December that the new lifeboat launched, with Coxswain Alan Barnes in command, to help with the search for a 28ft working boat, reported overdue on a passage from Ponsharden to Cowlands Creek. The casualty was found by the all-weather lifeboat and it was taken in tow by the inshore lifeboat.
The station was honoured when, on 1 May 2002, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, named Richard Cox Scott as one of her first engagements at the start of her Golden Jubilee of Great Britain. This was only the fourth time a reigning monarch had named a lifeboat. After the tour, the royal party went on board Richard Cox Scott and were taken on a tour of the harbour.
The most significant service undertaken by Richard Cox Scott was to the cargo vessel Galina, with eight people on board. While on passage from the Baltic to Israel, the Galina lost all power in storm force conditions 5 miles south-east of Dodman Point and started drifting towards the coast with the danger of being driven ashore. Falmouth’s all-weather lifeboat, with the Fowey lifeboat also in attendance, succeeded in getting a line aboard and a tow established and managed to keep the casualty vessel away from the shore until an emergency towing vessel arrived and took over the tow. Falmouth RNLI Coxswain Mark Pollard was later awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal for his fortitude, exemplary leadership and outstanding seamanship in the rescue of the Galina. The other members of the Falmouth lifeboat crew received Medal Service Certificates for their crucial part in this service.
In her 23 years of service at Falmouth, RNLB Richard Cox Scott has launched on service over 500 times and over 12 lives have been saved.
Falmouth RNLI Coxswain Jonathon Blakeston, who has also been the station’s full-time mechanic since 2013, said: ‘Richard Cox Scott has been a fabulous lifeboat and we are going to miss her. Before she leaves, we are hoping to have a get together for ex-crew members that served on her so that they can also say goodbye.
‘The day that Richard Cox Scott leaves her berth at the station for the final time will be tinged with sadness but time and technology move on and we must prepare for the next chapter of Falmouth Lifeboat Station. We look forward to receiving our own Shannon class lifeboat later in 2025 but in the meantime our volunteer crew members are continuing their training with the aim of placing the relief Shannon class lifeboat George and Frances Phelon on service as our temporary station all-weather lifeboat early in the new year.’
Notes to editors
- The Shannon is the latest class of all-weather lifeboat to join the RNLI fleet. Designed entirely in house by a team of RNLI engineers and built at the RNLI’s all weather lifeboat centre in Poole, Dorset, the charity harnessed cutting-edge technology to ensure this new lifeboat meets the demands of a 21st century rescue service.
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